His body was responding all on its own. He deserved a few minutes of pleasure after all the shit he’d been through. Suddenly needed it the way he needed air.
A tiny voice in the back of his head warned to be careful. That when it came to her, real or not, his senses were always impaired. That if he didn’t stay alert, she could—as his father had said time and again—be the key to his undoing. But the moment she stopped swaying, the instant she pushed to her toes, the second she fit her mouth to his... That voice completely faded into the ether.
He opened the second she kissed him. Grasped the back of her head and licked the soft seam of her lips. And when her fingers dug into his arms, when she groaned and then finally opened, he pushed his tongue into the sultry wetness of her mouth and finally tasted her.
Energy surged inside him. A scorching, combustible energy that jolted every dead nerve ending suddenly back to life.
He swept his tongue over hers. Tasted a hint of whiskey. Of Mint. Tasted apprehension, danger, and desperation all swirling together in her sensual mouth.
And overriding everything, he tasted desire. A feral, voracious craving that bubbled up from the depths of her soul. One he’d sampled before. One he’d never been able to resist. One that could finally condemn him to the darkness he’d been trying to outrun all his life.
She jerked back from his mouth and pushed out of his arms before he could take more. Chest heaving, she lifted her gaze to his. And the moment their eyes met and he saw the shock in those wide, amethyst pools, he knew.
He knew she was more than a horny female looking for a good time. Much more than a wayward Argolean. And that this—their meeting—had not happened by chance.
“Mono mia,” he whispered.
Her face paled. She stumbled, knocking into a body behind her.
He reached out to yank her back against him, but a voice rang out across the club, stopping his motion. A deep, familiar voice he was sure he’d heard before.
The female twisted toward the sound.
Zagreus shifted his gaze across the dance floor and took in the muscular, fair-haired Argonaut standing two steps up near the bar. In a rush, he remembered where he’d heard that voice. Not in the air around him but through the Fates’ mystical mirror—the pedestal basin of water the old hags used to spy on mortals from their hidden realm.
“Talisa,” the Argonaut said in a commanding tone as the music in the club disappeared and the bodies around them stopped moving. “Step away from him.”
A hush fell over the room. The Argonaut’s malevolent gaze locked on Zagreus, indicating he could see through Zagreus’s glamour.
All eyes shifted Zagreus’s way. And in the silence, the shadow energy Zagreus worked to keep locked down swirled inside, breaking his concentration.
The glamour spell he’d cast shattered. Gasps echoed as recognition dawned in the faces staring his way. Like a wave, bodies shifted back in every direction.
Horror rushed over the female’s—Talisa’s—features.
Zagreus wrapped his hand around her upper arm before she could flee, jerking her tight to his side.
She grunted and yanked back on his hold—harder than he anticipated. His grip loosened, and he realized she was stronger than she looked, gifted with some kind of extra strength, which was probably why she hadn’t been afraid to venture into this club alone.
“Talisa!” The clank of a blade being drawn echoed through the room.
Zagreus tightened his grip around the female’s arm then threw out his other hand in the direction of the stupid Argonaut already charging toward him.
The female at his side screamed, “No!”
Bodies scrambled into the shadows, clearing the dance floor. Another feminine screech echoed near the front of the club, but Zagreus didn’t bother to look that way. He focused his powers and shot a stream of energy out from his palm that surged through the space and slammed into the Argonaut’s chest, throwing him to the ground.
“You son of a bitch!” The female darted in front of him and shoved her free hand hard against Zagreus’s chest. The force was so strong, it broke Zagreus’s hold on her arm, knocking him off his feet. He sailed backward into the wall.
Cement cracked. Zagreus landed with a grunt against the floor. Plaster rained down from the damaged ceiling. As he shook the dust from his hair, his gaze caught sight of the Argonaut across the floor, writhing on the ground as